Daddy's Game (22 page)

“Miss Harris, I’m real sorry about that picture getting out. When I saw it on my camera I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I knew the papers would pay big money for it. And I needed the money something fierce. You see, my wife…”

“Mr. Marinovich, I understand that you’re in a bad place financially. I realize you have regrets, but the photograph looked like there could not be any other explanation other than Natron was being, ahem,” she cleared her throat, “inappropriate, with that woman.”

“I agree. But you see, Miss Harris, that was not the case.”

“What do you mean?”

“Okay, I was at the party and once I saw that Natron was there I went to the car and got my camera. I know it was horrible, but when he got into the hot tub in his shorts, I thought I could maybe get a money shot, you know? Because he’s got that awesome physique women love and the Internet guys will pay for pictures of that. That was my only intention, to get a shot of him in his shorts.”

“Go on,” Carmen encouraged.

“Except there was this woman there, she was kinda tipsy and she kept hitting on him. He wasn’t interested. She practically followed him around the party and when he got in the hot tub, she followed. When that didn’t get her anywhere with him, she took off her top.”

“Eeew!” Carmen couldn’t help herself. What a skank.

“Well, most of the guys were excited and paying her lots of attention, as you can imagine. But Natron, he was trying to avoid her.”

“Okay.” So far it didn’t sound so bad.

“Then she tried to kinda sit in his lap or something. I’m not sure because I was back behind some bushes, so nobody would notice my camera and kick me out. Next thing I know he started helping her out of the hot tub. She was so drunk she kinda stumbled and well, judging by my pictures—her boob kinda hit him in the face.”

Carmen grimaced.

“Yeah. I think it grazed him. Sorry, but he just laughed it off and some other guy gave her a towel and went inside with her. I didn’t see her again.”

“So… he didn’t hook up with her?”

The waitress ambled over with their cups of coffee. “Anything else?”

“I think that will do it,” Carmen said shortly.

Marinovich poured two packages of creamer into his coffee and took a sip. “Not that I saw. From what I could tell he’s used to dealing with a lot of attention. It looked like he could tell she was trouble and he was trying to steer clear of her. He was nice about it too. When she started falling down he helped her, like a gentleman. That’s why I felt so bad that my picture made him out to be a cheating bastard.”

She frowned. “Yeah. Having to deal with paparazzi sucks.”

He shrugged. “Hey, I gotta make a living. If I hadn’t taken that picture, somebody with their Smart phone might have. Being a celebrity is a tradeoff. You get the money and the fame, but you pay for it by losing your privacy. The public thinks they own celebrities, and in a way, they do.”

“One hell of a tradeoff.”

“Like I said, I’m sorry it made Natron come off like a bad guy. He’s not, at least as far as I could tell.”

Carmen bit her lip thoughtfully. “So you’re sure he didn’t hook up with her? That nothing was going on?”

He shook his head. “Nothing I saw.”

She nodded. “Thank you for meeting with me. You have helped put my mind at ease.”

“Sure,” he said, taking another sip of his coffee. “So can I come to the wedding?”

“Don’t push it,” she replied, leaving a ten-dollar bill on the table.

“Leaving so soon? I thought maybe we could at least have a piece of pie.”

She tossed another ten on the table. “Knock yourself out. I’ve got someone I need to see.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

That afternoon while Natron was lifting with Jack, a text came through to his phone. His spirits lifted when he saw it was from Carmen.

“Can you come by tonight?”

“Sure. What time?”
he texted back.

They agreed on eight and he rushed to finish the rest of his workout.

Certain that she was still mad at him, he stopped at the store and picked up some flowers on his way over. His mamma had taught him that it was never a bad thing to show up bearing some sort of gift, so he picked out a bouquet filled with yellow roses.

Carmen let him in, kissed him on the cheek, and thanked him for the flowers. She set them on the kitchen counter and asked him to sit down.

“Babygirl, I know you’re still mad at me…” he began.

“Not really,” she interjected.

“Wait, you’re not?” He’d been devastated by the rift between them. The only way he’d been able to deal with it was by putting the situation out of his mind and focusing on football.

Carmen told him about her conversation with Marinovich.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me. So that’s how that picture got taken. That’s nuts.” He shook his head. “Damn, I can’t go anywhere.”

“Apparently not. Especially places where there are half-naked women.” She frowned.

“Hey, babe, I didn’t know women would be takin’ their tops off. I was doin’ my best to stay away from that tramp.”

“Alright. Well, maybe you should steer clear from Clarence. Every time you two get together, naked women seem to be involved,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“That’s probably not a bad idea. He’s a good guy, but…”

“And what is this about you proposing to me that I saw on
Entertainment Nightly
? Don’t you think you might want to mention that to me first?”

“Baby, now don’t be mad about that. Why would that make you mad?” he asked, perplexed. Being proposed to, isn’t that what women wanted? Hell, he’d never understand women.

“Because first of all it sounded like a publicity stunt, since you’ve never even talked to me about our future. And second of all because if you did mean it, well, it sucks always being the last to know.”

“What do you mean always being the last to know?”

Her eyes began to well up with tears. “It’s like when you were hurt and I was at the bottom of the list. Everyone in America with a TV knew you’d broken your knee before I did. And then, when they wouldn’t let me see you…”

He got up and sat beside her. Draping an arm around her, he said, “I’m sorry. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. That reporter started asking me about you and I just told her what was in my heart. I’m sorry that upset you.”

He hugged her close. She felt so good in his arms. He’d missed holding her. What he’d said in that interview was true. She meant the world to him.

“Will you forgive me?”

“For what?” she asked.

“For being stupid.”

She giggled. “Sure, I can forgive you for that.”

“I really do see a future with you, babygirl.”

“And I can’t imagine a future without you, Daddy.”

“I’m not sure what kind of future it will be,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Carmen asked, twisting her lips in confusion.

“Just that I don’t know what’s going to happen with my career, Carmen. I just don’t know,” he said, rubbing a hand over his bald head.

“Daddy, you are going to make it back from this. You’ve worked so hard, and you’re so talented.”

He shook his head. “That may not be enough…”

“You’ve got to get all that negativity out of your head, Daddy. I believe in you. You can do anything you put your mind to.”

She turned her face to his and he bent to kiss her. She believed in him. With her, all his hopes and dreams seemed possible, and this fueled his passion for her. He needed her, not just as his sexual plaything, but as his partner, the woman he wanted by his side always.

He pressed his lips against hers. She opened to him, invited his exploration of her mouth. Her arms encircled him and she gently scratched his back through his shirt. Damn, it felt incredible to hold her.

He pulled back and gave her a sharp look. “There is another matter we need to discuss.”

She raised a brow quizzically.

“You and Charmaine burning my stuff.”

Her shoulders slumped and she chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah, sorry about that, Daddy.”

“You should be. Not only was that impulsive, but that fireman was right. You girls could have caused a real fire and hurt somebody.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry about your things…”

“Shit, I can buy new things, Carmen. You know, if I’m not supposed to hang out with Clarence, maybe you shouldn’t hang out with Charmaine. That girl’s a menace.”

“Now Daddy, that’s not fair. Charmaine was looking out for me. She just doesn’t want anyone to hurt me, she’s protective.”

“She’s also nuts.”

“She is not. You just don’t like her because you and she are too much alike. That’s all,” she said, massaging his shoulder.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”

“I know I am.” She winked.

“But that doesn’t excuse your behavior, does it, babygirl?”

Her eyes grew wide. “No, sir.”

“I think somebody needs a spanking.”

Carmen gritted her teeth.

“C’mon. Down with the panties. Over the knee.”

She stood up and slipped her panties down to her ankles, then kicked them aside.

Obediently, she draped herself over his lap and held his leg. He loved how she liked to hold his leg during a punishment. He could tell how much it hurt by how tightly she gripped him. And he could tell when she let herself float away under the magic stream of endorphins.

“How many do you think you’ve earned?”

“Ten,” she answered meekly.

“Ten? Girl, you burned my shit! Try again.”

“Twenty?”

“Twenty-five,” he said firmly.

“Yes, sir.”

He started out with a light hand covering every inch of her ass cheeks with his huge palm. The resounding thwacking sounds reverberated through the room alongside Carmen’s little grunts and groans. After fifteen strokes, her cheeks were hot to the touch and as pink as cotton candy. He rubbed her rear to ease the pain, and Carmen purred under his gentle touch.

“Ten more,” he said, striking her backside again. This time the noise that arose from her was not so pleasant.

Her muscles tensed and he reprimanded, “You know it’s only going to hurt worse if you do that. Relax.”

She slowly seemed to give herself over to the process, the tension easing out of her muscles with each blow.

“Good girl. We’re almost done.”

She mumbled that she was sorry for burning his clothes.

“I know, baby,” he said with a final swat to her hindquarters, which were a brilliant red now. “All done, and you’ve been such a good girl, Daddy’s going to make you come.”

She wriggled underneath him.

“Be still,” he commanded and inserted a finger into her slick, wet channel.

She moaned and pressed her pussy against his hand. Normally he would have fussed at her, but tonight was about patching things up, not causing more conflict.

He added another finger and fucked her with them, hard and insistently. Her vaginal muscles clenched around him and her hips bucked, indicating her hunger for deeper thrusts.

Giving her what he knew she wanted, he increased the speed and curled his fingers to where they hit her sensitive g-spot. This brought a howl from her throat. He responded by flicking her clit with his thumb. He thrummed that spot with each thrust and within minutes he felt her convulse across his lap, her orgasm overtaking her.

He continued his ministrations until her body stilled and she brushed his hand away. He knew sometimes she could get so sensitive down there that it almost hurt if he kept fiddling with her.

Hoisting her up, he switched her to a seated position on her lap. Her face bore the glorious blush of being freshly loved. Disheveled and adorable as hell, she asked him, “Daddy, aren’t you going to fuck me?”

He smiled wanly. “No, babygirl, not tonight.”

“Why not?”

“I’m exhausted. Had a tough practice today, then Jack and I lifted, worked on some more footwork. And I can’t stay.” He kissed her on top of the head. “I’m sorry, but I gotta go home. Have to be at practice early tomorrow.” He was tired. In fact, tired didn’t even begin to describe it.

“No more being late to work in the morning?” she giggled.

“No. Coach chewed my ass out for that. I’m on thin ice anyway with all the negative publicity. It’ll be a miracle if he lets me play in the game.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Babe, my career is in shambles,” he said, placing a hand on her knee.

“That’s not true.”

“Yeah, it is. My endorsements have all dried up. I can’t move the way I used to be able to, and I’m probably not going to play in the Super Bowl even though I’ve practically killed myself to be able to come back this year.”

“Daddy, I had no idea about your endorsements. Why didn’t you tell me?” A mask of concern covered her face.

“Didn’t want you to worry.”

“But Daddy, we’re partners. I’m here for you. No matter what.”

“I don’t want you to see me like this,” he said, his emotions threatening to get the best of him.

“Like what?”

“Floundering. Out of control. Baby, how can I be a good daddy for you if I can’t even control my body or my own career?”

“Control? Control is an illusion. Nobody has control. Natron, you are an incredible athlete, an amazing man, but you’re human.” She touched his bald head lovingly. “Just remember that. You’re human, not Superman.”

He heard what she was saying, but he didn’t agree. People
expected
him to be Superman. He was Natron Dakers. He wasn’t supposed to fail.

“Whatever happens,” Carmen said, “I’ll be here, right by your side.”

“Thanks, baby,” he said and held her tight, needing her now more than ever.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

On Thursday, the team doctor cleared Natron to play. The team would be leaving for New Orleans on Saturday. The following week would involve practices, a few sightseeing tours and events, in addition to media day.

Friday morning Coach Morrison asked to see Natron in his office.